what body shape is this car?

[W210 Fan]

no tricks and sorry no prizes, im just interested to see what the masses think the shape of this car is from a registering/V5c point of view,

as some of you may know I am planning on building a replica of a group C car (which the Sauber C9 is) and im using an W210 E55 as a donor vehicle for the engine, I know its not the same M119 as the original but it does already have a lot of the uprating I would need to do to it already done,

 

[wemorgan]

Great project. Would be interested to read of more details of the build you have planned.

Another V5 question. What will the make/model be of the new build?

 

[corned]

Interesting!

Personally, I think '2-door coupe' fits the bill nicely. I don't think 'FIA Group C Sports Prototype' would be understood properly at DVLA.

As long as you make the V8 noise fairly rorty, it will be in keeping with the original. As for the blowtorches...

 

[4n0y-merc]

Nice, I hope you manage to build it and don't forget to publish some pictures.

 

[W210 Fan]

well wemorgan that what this poll is to find out, I dont want to hedge my bets on anything yet Ill wait for a few results to roll in...

I have always wanted a Group C since I went to Le Mans in 1989 to watch them, now as a 33 year old home owner with garage/workshop I have the time and money (not the £2 million for a real one) and having been an engineer for 15 years also the experience,

there will be some deviating from the real cars, most had aluminium tubs some of the newer cars (the TWR Jaguar XJR9 LM which won Le Mans in 1988) had a carbon tub, I like steel and I think I can build a car which is as light as the original (circa 850/900 kgs) using it, then body work will be a group C generic shape as not to tread an anybodies toes although with the cars being as old as they are is this an issue if I copied one? then the 5.5 litre AMG V8 will be fitted in the back with the addition of a new ECU and two intercooled turbochargers which should add around 350 horses to the 350 I already have, with this much torque and power I will have to go for a race gearbox and I want a manual shift, maybe sequential, then huge brakes, 100/120 litre fuel tank inbetween me and the engine, some seats, steering and MASSIVE tyres!!

Ive simplified it a bit as i could spend years laying out all my plans on here for suspension geometry and mass and CoG calculations etc, I plan to start it next year after I have had a huge workshop built over the existing garage will my Mill and Lathe in!

 

[wemorgan]

A man with a plan....excellent

I agree with the steel body....easier to weld with too and lots of knowledge of triangulated chassis already out there.

I presume this will be a track day toy?

A professional interest of mine....what provisions for a roll cage are you making?

 

[Red C220]

Won't the description on the V5 be determined by the donor vehicle?

Or is this going to be a Q plate?

 

[wemorgan]

I suspect a Q plate would be the best route.

I believe if you transfer the registration plate over to the kit car, then it will have to pass the MoT emissions of that donor car. Could be wrong though. It's a complex issue I've only recently begun to read about.

 

[Doodle]

2 door coupe, definitely. 1 door, 2 doors. sorted

I didn't think the 119 needed much uprating though?

 

[W210 Fan]

Interesting!

Personally, I think '2-door coupe' fits the bill nicely. I don't think 'FIA Group C Sports Prototype' would be understood properly at DVLA.

As long as you make the V8 noise fairly rorty, it will be in keeping with the original. As for the blowtorches...

I have made room for CATs and sillencers if I need them otherwise it will be nearly straight through pipes on a 5.5 litre twin turbo V8, replicas are all about the noise and there will be flames...

Nice, I hope you manage to build it and don't forget to publish some pictures.

I will when I start the project next year

A man with a plan....excellent

I agree with the steel body....easier to weld with too and lots of knowledge of triangulated chassis already out there.

I presume this will be a track day toy?

A professional interest of mine....what provisions for a roll cage are you making?

its a track day weapon, with a similar mass, power, gearing and aero package to an original I see no real reason why it doent have similar performance,

I plan to make a safety cell from T45 roll cage steel and have the rest of the vehicle in easily to pull off in a crash lumps to remove energy from any accident and make provision for energy absorbing areas for lower speed accidents,

Won't the description on the V5 be determined by the donor vehicle?

Or is this going to be a Q plate?

it depends on what part of the SVA or whatever its called when im ready dictates, by my last reading of the rules the plates will be dictated by the build date of the donor engine not the car and hence the emission rules, however the reason im asking the shape question will lead to another one later on....

2 door coupe, definitely. 1 door, 2 doors. sorted

I didn't think the 119 needed much uprating though?

the M119 is a strong motor, and probably better built than the M113 I have, however the cams, pistons, con rods etc in the 5.5 M113 are better then a standard M119 and the whole car was only £2995 and is a damn good place to start, its been on a dyno with 97k on the clock, 361BHP rather than the 354 quoted and 397ft/lbs of torque over the 386 quoted, it also yields a radiator, engine sensors, bits of cable, HVAC equipment which is suprisingly expensive if brought seperately and gives me items to sell (bodywork, wheels) and seats for the garage (interior) and leaves me spares for the next E55 I will probably buy to get me around in

 

[W210 Fan]

OK then people thanks for voting, a special thanks to those who clicked anything apart from coupe - you know who you are!!!

OK so the next question is what would you describe it as?

I would say 2 door silver coupe

then

who has 2 door silver coupe written on their V5 as a potential donor VIN?

I assume CLKs have Mercedes CLK Coupe 2 door 4 seats and SLKs have Mercedes SLK 2 door Coupe 2 seats,

the only reason I ask is that speaking to somebody who who has done this sort of thing before (built bespoke rally cars and managed to get them road legal) he said he built a stratos with a 2 litre lancia engine, he found a V5 which said lancia 2 door 2 litre which matched the description of the new car, im looking for a car which has a description on its V5 which matches a description of the Sauber - hense all the questions, if such a thing exists,

Im asking for some help to see if anybody has a V5 which doesnt contain a lot of details, im assuming its going to be a mercedes but it doesnt have to be new as registering an engine change is easy, I hope you can see what im trying to do, if it works

 

[wemorgan]

That's a cunning plan, good luck.

There was a recent thread about this on the Westfield forum, though coming from the opposite perspective. They were advocating only buying Westfields with Westfield in the V5, rather than the that of donor vehicle. This was to ensure the correct registration and therefore insurance on the vehicle. You might want to be careful of this issue too.

 

[W210 Fan]

Thanks wemorgan, I'm trying to gain as much information as possible on the subject

 

[s3lin1]

Definitely go for a coupe.. it's the best looking shape